The only women’s team in the Volvo Ocean Race were hoping on Saturday that a bold tactical move to sail in the opposite direction to all but one other team in the fleet would pay dividends on leg four to Auckland from China.
While their rival boats ducked south in the 5,264-nautical mile (nm) route from Sanya to New Zealand, Team SCA (Sweden) went north in apparently the wrong direction towards Taiwan through the Pacific Ocean.
The only crew to follow their lead was Team Brunel (Netherlands), the boat led by Bouwe Bekking, who is competing in a record-equalling edition of the world’s most prestigious offshore sailing event.
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The two boats are likely to sail more than 300nm further in the leg than the rest of the six-strong fleet but the pay-off is probable stronger wind pressure, which could well catapult them clear of the main pack in the long term.
As Team SCA’s navigator Libby Greenhalgh (Britain) conceded in a blog from her boat midweek, it is a strategy that could well take up to a week to play out – for good or bad.
“We are heading towards Taiwan and to the north, which is much the opposite direction to where New Zealand is and sounds a bit backwards in going forward. But looking at the routings and weather ahead, it seemed to be the right thing to do,” she wrote.
“It will appear at first that we have taken a massive loss but in about six days’ time we will see exactly how the cards have played out and whether it was worth taking the risk.”
Team SCA are the first all female team to take part in offshore sailing’s toughest crewed race for 12 years.
So far, after three legs of nine, they have been struggling against their elite male competition, finishing last in the previous two and second-last in the opening stage.
However, there are still six legs to sail in an event that will eventually cover 38,739nm and visit 11 ports plus every continent. It is scheduled to finish on June 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
As things stand, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing are leading the fourth leg by 21nm ahead of MAPFRE, while overall race leaders Dongfeng Race Team are a further 0.2nm back.
Team Alvimedica are currently in fourth, 31.8nm behind the Azzam.
The boats are expected to arrive in Auckland on March 1-2.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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